ACAT Receives $2 Million Grant From the Yield Giving Open Call
ACAT Receives $2 Million Grant From the Yield Giving Open Call
On March 19, MacKenzie Scott’s Yield Giving announced Alaska Community Action on Toxics (ACAT) is one of the Yield Giving Open Call awardees working with people and in places experiencing the greatest need in the United States.
In March 2023, Yield Giving launched an Open Call for community-led, community-focused organizations whose explicit purpose is to enable individuals and families to achieve substantive improvement in their well-being.
ACAT is a statewide non-profit research and advocacy organization committed to ensuring Alaskans’ right to clean air, clean water, and toxic-free food. Driven by a core belief in environmental justice, ACAT empowers communities to eliminate exposure to toxics through collaborative research, shared science, education, organizing, and advocacy.
The Open Call received 6,353 applications and initially planned for 250 awards of $1 million each. In the fall of 2023, organizations top-rated by their peers advanced to a second round of review by an external Evaluation Panel recruited for experience relevant to this cause and underwent a final round of due diligence. In light of the incredible work of these organizations, as judged by their peers and external panelists, the donor team decided to expand the awardee pool and the award amount.
“Yield Giving’s generosity will allow ACAT to take our work to achieve environmental health and justice and a toxic-free Alaska to the next level,” said Pamela Miller, ACAT’s Executive Director. “When we add these new funds to the grants we receive from the long-time funders and individual supporters we’re fortunate to have at our side, ACAT will be able to serve more of the ever-growing number of Alaskans, tribes, and communities who request our assistance – but we’re also planning to use Yield Giving funds over the next five years for some longer-term projects to transform the ways we’re able to help, to tackle root causes and dismantle systemic barriers to Alaskans being able to breathe clean air, drink clean water, eat toxic-free food, and live in a climate-stable future.”
ACAT was awarded a $2 million gift in support of our mission to ensure people’s right to clean air, clean water, and toxic-free food. ACAT was one of four Alaska-based organizations to receive an award, along with Native Movement, Alaska Institute for Justice, and First Alaskans Institute.
“If we can even the playing field and make sure the people who are most affected by toxic contamination are leading the environmental justice movement, it will make a huge difference for Alaskans and the world in holding polluters accountable, ensuring elected officials and laws prioritize people’s health over industry’s profits, and preventing health harms before they occur. Yield Giving’s generous grant will go a long way toward achieving these ambitious goals,” said Miller.
More information about the Yield Giving Open Call, including a list of all the grantees, and other initiatives can be found at www.leverforchange.org.
ABOUT ALASKA COMMUNITY ACTION ON TOXICS
Alaska Community Action on Toxics (ACAT) was founded in 1997 in response to requests for assistance from Alaskans concerned about the impacts of toxic pollution from military and industrial activities. We believe that everyone has the right to clean air, clean water, and toxic-free food. Driven by a core belief in environmental justice, ACAT empowers communities to eliminate exposure to toxics through collaborative research, shared science, education, organizing, and advocacy. We work at the intersection of environmental justice, reproductive justice, environmental health, Indigenous rights, and human rights. To learn more, visit www.akaction.org.
ABOUT YIELD GIVING
Established by MacKenzie Scott to share a financial fortune created through the effort of countless people, Yield Giving is named after a belief in adding value by giving up control. To date, Yield’s network of staff and advisors has yielded more than $17,300,000,000 to 2,300+ non-profit teams to use as they see fit for the benefit of others. To learn more, visit www.yieldgiving.com.